The Forgotten Boy
by DestinysSky
Summary: Atlas Elendil is not an average Hogwarts student. Experience the Harry Potter series through the eyes of another. I suck at descriptions, but please give it a chance though. If you don't like it don't read it, but please don't leave any hateful comments.
1. Prologue

To be honest, Atlas never found it out of the ordinary to be a wizard. Even though he was raised in an ordinary all boys orphanage until he was 6, he took the news of being a wizard very well. It all started one day while he was playing with the other boys when a caretaker came to him and told him he had a visitor, which that was odd in its self because one did not usually get visitors when they lived in a orphanage unless they were getting adopted.

When he reached the visiting room, there was a man sitting in one of the chairs at the small square wooden table facing the door. The man was broad shouldered and had a slightly muscular build. He had a mean looking face with dull short brown hair and tired dark brown eyes. The man stared down at the young boy. His eyebrows drew together in a confused frown.

"Is this really the boy?" he asked the caretaker. To which she answered a soft yes.

The man got up and knelt in front of the boy. He knelt staring into the boys eyes for a while. Atlas all the while stared right back at him. Never wavering. Showing more courage than any 5 year old would normally portray. The older man took note of this.

"You have courage, young one." He mumbled to the boy, smirking slightly.

The boy blinked at him, not knowing what to say, but mumbled a quiet "Thank you" so as to be polite.

"You do have unusual coloring, don't you?" the man asked. Atlas raised his eyebrows at this. He had been told by the other children that he was weird looking but he hadn't known it to be quite so weird that an adult like this man would mention it to him.

The young boy was slightly bigger than children his age with a slight build and fair skin. His hair was short and had bangs that fell over his forehead. But the thing that people had a hard time grasping was that this young boy had white hair. Yes, white. Not platinum blonde. White. His unusual coloring did not stop there. It also went into his large child like eyes. While his left one was an ordinary dark brown, similar to the one the older gentleman possessed, the right was a light ruby red.

"Yes, sir." was the only thing the other boy said as he turned his face down, as of ashamed of his coloring. The older man took note of this.

"Nothing to be ashamed of, my boy." Atlas looked back up to the man. "Sir?"

"It just means you have something a little more special about yourself." he told the boy. "Don't let it bother you."

Atlas gave the man a small smile and turned his face down again, embarrassed. The gentleman smiled softly and ruffled the boys hair gently. Then stood and started speaking to the caretaker.

As Atlas busied himself with smoothing down his hair once again, he thought to himself that this man wasn't as mean as the impression he gave.

He and the caretaker talked for a while longer and than turned to the boy. The man knelt down to him once again and began to speak.

"How would you like to come with me. A special boy like you shouldn't be in a place like this."

Atlas looked at him with shock and wonder, "You mean it?"

"Yes." he said sincerely. "If you would like to come with me."

Atlas looked to the caretaker, who gave him a soft, encouraging smile. Turning back to the man, he gave him a smile and a small nod. Which was returned with a smile from the man.

"Alright than." He held out his hand to Atlas. "My name is Tristen Castro. It's nice to meet you, Atlas."

He took his hand, tiny compared to Trisen's larger adult one, and shook it like he had seen adults do.

It was that same day that Atlas was told he was a wizard. Tristen had told him he had come across Atlas' file while searching for a new apprentice for his line of work and that he had become interested in him after reading it.

Atlas asked what it was that Tristen did. Tristen told Altas that it would take time to get to know what he did and how it benefited the wizarding world. Atlas told him he was prepared to learn about the wizarding world.

"I'll need to know these things, won't I?" Came his argument. To which Tristen smirked at how smart this kid was. "Very well."

Over the next 6 months, Atlas learned about the wizarding world. He learned about some of it's history, that ordinary people had no idea that witches and wizards even existed or that their world was hidden inside if theirs. That it was governed by the Ministry of Magic and inside the Ministry there were many different kinds of departments. Tristen told him that he worked under a special section of the Auror's office within the Ministry called the 'Guardians' and that it is very hard to get into this specific branch.

The Guardians, he learned, were a secret group that specialized in, not just keeping all of the wizarding world safe, but special people within this world protected, such as the Minister of Magic, head's of office, etc. Not anybody can get this protection but every now and than when a witch or wizard learned of this group they could but in a request to have a guardian assigned to them. Not all request are excepted, of course.

Atlas had decided after learning of this group that he would accept the reason that Tristen had taken him home and agreed to become his apprentice. Tristen had been delighted that Atlas had accepted his offer. He started Atlas' training right away.

He taught Atlas different kinds of fighting styles, such as karate, judo, even sword fighting technique's. The training was hard and long. Lasting for hours at a time. When they would finish Atlas would be sweating and out of breath. He would stumble to his room and collapse onto his bed and fall straight to sleep. Tristen would sometimes come to Atlas' door and watch the small 7 year old sleep and feel horrible to put this young boy through what he is, but he had to in order for him to become what he needed to be.

A couple months later, Atlas collapsed during a training session unable to breath. Triten had been told later at Saint Mungo's that Atlas had developed asthma. Not a very serious case of asthma but he still needed to watch out on Atlas' physical exertion.

Atlas had later apologized to Tristen for becoming weak. Tristen had pulled the boy into a firm hug and told him, "Never apologize for being something you can not help being. It is not your fault that you are what you are." This gesture had brought tears to the young boy.

Another year went by without anymore incidents. Atlas became another year older and had become quite the young fighter, even though he still couldn't take down his master yet. Since Atlas would not be getting his wand until he was 11, Tristen only had him study some magic spell books. Nothing to complicated for the boy, just basics before he started school.

It was around this time that Tristen had been assigned to a pure-blood wizard family. He would be moving into the Mansion the with the family to be with them 24/7 as their guardian. He would be taking Atlas with him to complete his training.

When they got to the mansion, they introduced themselves to the family. They introduced themselves as the Malfoy's; Lucius, the head of the House, his wife, Narcissa and their son, Draco. It had appeared the young Malfoy was surprised that another boy around his age would be one of their protectors. Atlas had bowed to the boy to be polite as he was his new charge and would be following the family from now on. Draco had blushed ever so slightly and turned away running up to his room. His mother had yelled up at him with no response and then apologized about here son.

Over the next few weeks as Atlas' training and studying continued, he noticed that the pale blonde boy had watched him every now and then. He would catch him watching him work out outside through a window. Glancing up to find him watching him read. And several other instances that he would get a chuckle out of.

Eventually, Draco got up the nerve to talk to the slightly older boy.

"So..." He started. "What's it like?"

Atlas looked up from his book at the blonde boy sitting across from him in the study.

"I'm sorry. You'll have to be a little more specific." He stated. Mentally cringing because he thought he had sounded a bit rude without meaning too.

"I mean the fighting." Draco said a little more excited. Glad that the older boy talked back. "Father and Mother would never let me fight like you and Castro do."

"I'd imagine not." Atlas chuckled. He gave the question a bit of thought, then answered. "You know, I've been doing it so long that it has just become part of my daily routine." He shrugged, "It's really nothing special."

Draco looked a little disappointed. "That isn't an answer." The boy stated. Atlas gave him an apologetic smile and turned back to his book. Draco however had other plans and continued to talk to Atlas, who in turn would talk back to him. Eventually the book was forgotten, in favor of getting to know the Malfoy heir.

Weeks passed and the boys got to know each other more and more. Draco came to watch Atlas and his master train every now and again. He would ask to join in and Castro would deny him. Stating his mother would have his head if Draco got hurt in any way. Draco would pout and Atlas would chuckle and get back to his training.

Draco had a fright one day when Atlas had difficulty breathing on one of these occasions. Castro just told him to calm himself or he would stress out Atlas even further. Draco tried to calm himself the best the 8 year could. He watched as Castro calmly talk Atlas into taking deep breaths, holding them, then slowly releasing. Atlas caught his breath again after some time. Castro told Atlas that they were done and for the next couple day so he could rest his body. Atlas, weak from the ordeal only nodded his acknowledgement.

Castro got Atlas into bed soon after that, Draco trailing behind them. He stood at Atlas' door as Castro got Atlas into his bed. The older man turned to the door seeing Draco still standing there. "He'll be alright." He told the young boy, who nodded in response. He walked to the other boy and told him that Atlas will be back on his feet by the next morning and not to worry himself.

"Just give him some space to calm down for tonight. Alright?"

Draco nodded again. Glancing toward the bed where the other boy buried himself in the blankets, before turning and leaving the room.

The next couple days, Draco watched Atlas carefully to see if an attack would happen again. The other boy though acted as though the attack never happened. Which puzzled Draco until he asked the white haired boy why. The other boy stated that he shouldn't dwell on things that he could't help and knew would happen again.

"I'm always going to have this decease. Why would I want to think of every little attack that I'm going to have." He told the other boy. Draco made a noise of acknowledgement and let the other boy get back to his reading. He pulled out a book as well but didn't pay to much attention to the pages.

The boys grew together becoming good friends. Atlas became more open to Draco and Draco thought of Atlas as an older brother he could come to for advise. Both boys would joke around and tease each other. They had fights like all friends do, but would quickly get over the fight and be friends again.

When Atlas turned 11, Castro told Atlas that he would be holding him a year back from going to school. He told him that Mr. Malfoy had asked his master to have Atlas attend school with Draco so Atlas can be there all 7 years Draco would be at Hogwarts School and be there to watch over Draco while away from home. Atlas nodded his agreement to his task.

When Draco was told he was very happy that he would be in the same year as his best friend. So when the next year came around they both got there letters and were taken to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies. The last stop they made was to Ollivander's Wand Shop. Draco entered first, trying to hide his eagerness, followed by his Mother and Father. Atlas went to follow the family into the shop when he accidentally bumped into someone.

He turned to see a rather thin boy with messy black hair and round glasses. "Sorry" the boy muttered. "No, that was my fault." he bowed his head slightly. "I apologize."

The boy looked around awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. "Harry!" A deep loud voice called. Atlas looked up to see a very large man with thick, bushy hair and beard waving his large hand at the boy. The boy, Harry apparently, looked back at the man over his shoulder, waved, then turned to Atlas. "Um...good bye. Sorry again." he said hurriedly.

Atlas watched him as he ran up to the man, curiously.

"Atlas." His master called to him quietly. "Let's go."

"Right." Atlas said returning to the task he had been doing.

When they purchased the new wands for the 2 boys, they returned back to the Malfoy Manor. The boys were sent to their rooms to get ready for the train to school the next morning. Atlas and Draco said their good nights to each other as the separated to their different bedrooms.

After Atlas had finished packing, he laid on his small bed and stared at his new wand. It was 11', rather small to him, made of Oak, slightly lighter colored than Atlas would have thought, and had a dragon hearts strong core. All and all his wand wasn't all he was expecting, he thought he would have something more like his masters or Mr. Malfoy's, long and dark colored, but he was perfectly fine with his wand. Ollivander had told him that his wand was rather loyal and to be honest he really didn't understand what he meant by it.

He put his wand away and then pulled the blankets over himself. Falling asleep ready for tomorrow to come.


	2. Chapter 1

Sleep brought morning rather quickly, as it usually does. Atlas slowly came out of his sleep and rubbed his eyes to get as much sleep out of him as a could. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of time to get used to the sunlight that was streaming through the window next to his bed.  
A knock came from his door as he sat up. Before he could answer it, the door opened to reveal Draco. "You awake yet?" he said as he looked to the boy. Atlas gave him a tired smile.  
"Well," he said. "I wouldn't call it awake but I wouldn't deny it either."  
"Hurry and dress then," Draco said with a smirk.  
"Yes, your majesty." Atlas chuckled as he got out of bed and stretched.  
"Good. Better hurry. Mother and Father are planning on use leaving soon." Draco informed him.  
"Alright," Atlas said heading to his wardrobe. "I'll be down soon."  
Draco nodded and exited the room. Atlas let out a tired sigh and pulled out the remain articles of clothing he left in his wardrobe for today; a pair of jeans, a plain white t-shirt and a gray V-neck sweater. He dressed then headed for his door. He noticed that his trunk was already out of his room. 'Master must have come and taken it down' he thought. He paused and turned, remembering he left his wand on his nightstand. He walked back and picked it up. He wondered where exactly he should put his wand. He settled for tucking it into his waistband, not really knowing anywhere else to put it.  
He finally headed downstairs to the Malfoy dining area. He found that everyone was there already. Mr. Malfoy sat at the head of the rather large dining table with Mrs. Malfoy on his right and Draco on his left. His master, Tristen, sat next to Mrs. Malfoy. Everyone had already begun eating their breakfast. Atlas went and sat down next to Draco where a plate was waiting for him.  
"Good morning," he said before he began to eat.  
"So, glad you could join us," said Mr. Malfoy dully. He didn't look up to Atlas when he said this.  
"I apologize for my absence," Atlas said politely.  
"No matter. Hurry and eat." Mrs. Malfoy told him.  
"Yes, ma'am." He replied.  
Atlas began to eat and looked up at his master. Tristen noticed and just gave him a shrug and nodded to Atlas' plate. Just finish your breakfast' he could hear him saying. He nodded and continued eating in silence.  
Soon enough everyone was done and getting ready to leave for Kings Cross station. Atlas made a mental checklist of all the things he could have forgotten. Uniform, check. Books, check. Quill, parchment, ink, all check. He went through his list one by one and made sure they were all there.  
The last thing Atlas did was check on his owl, Pollux. The barred owl sat in its cage on top of his trunk. Atlas approached the owl and smile at him when he hooted at him. He stuck his fingers in the cage and scratched the top of Pollux's head. Tristen had gotten him the owl about a month ago, so he and the owl could get used to each other. The owl didn't take long to long to become used to him. Each night Atlas would let the owl out so it could hunt and when the owl came back they would both sit on his bed and relax. Atlas would pet him while he read.  
"Atlas," the boy turned and saw his master and Draco standing by the large front door. "Well, are you coming, or aren't you?" said the blond boy.  
Atlas gave a small chuckle. "Yeah," he said under his breath. Turning and grabbing Pollux's cage, gently lifting it and carrying it with him to the front door. "Let's go."

How can he be so tired from just sitting on a train?  
Atlas sighed heavily as he pressed farther into the cushioned bench. The train had left the station what felt like hours ago, and Atlas felt exhausted. He also had a small headache. Possibly from trying to read on a moving locomotive, which was a bad idea he had to admit to himself. So, he resigned himself to just stare out the window and watch the green countryside pass by.  
Draco had decided to go walk around the train with two other boys; who were the sons of two acquaintances of Mr. Malfoy's. Crabbe and Goyle, he believed their names were. So, Atlas just sat alone in the car trying to will away his headache.  
"Anything from the trolley, dear?"  
Atlas jumped at the sudden voice that filled the space. He turned to look toward the door of the car to find an elderly woman standing looking at him. She had a cart in front of her covered to the brim with cakes, candies, and other sweet things. She looked at him expectedly, nodding a little.  
"Ugh..." he breathed awkwardly and stood, losing his balance a little since he wasn't used to standing on the moving train. He moved to the woman and stuck his head out the door a little to get a better look at the trolley.  
Looking over it a couple time he turned to her and said, "No. Thank you, ma'am."  
She smiled at him, and he gave her a small smile back. She continued on her way down the hall, repeatedly yelling 'Anything from the trolley'.  
Atlas sighed and backed up, closing the door. He went and sat back down by the window, looking out it once again.  
The car door opened again a few minutes later, and Draco entered. He was grumbling and had a nasty, annoyed look on his face. Crabbe and Goyle soon followed after, both sitting on the benches. The blonde boy practically threw himself down on the seat opposite Atlas and continued to pout down at his shoes, his hands shoved in his pockets, slouched in the seat. Atlas watched the mini tantrum and raised an eyebrow at the younger boy. The  
"What happened to you?" he asked. Draco snorted softly and shook his head.  
"Don't ask," Draco mumbled, glancing up at the other boy. Then quickly looking back done again when Atlas gave a small chuckle. The two bigger boys seated next to Atlas and Draco quietly mumbled to each other, most of which Atlas didn't catch. Mostly food and a few comments about a pet rat. Atlas turned back to the window noticing that the sky had started to darken, it turned from a light blue to a soft purple. The fields and mountains turning to a very dark green. It all passed by as the train advanced on its way to its destination.  
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time." Came a voice from the hall. "Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."  
Atlas sighed deeply, just noticing how nervous he was. It would be the first time seeing the school he would be practically living in the next seven years, he hoped it would be as magical as he had heard.  
Draco stood and grabbed his robe as the train started to slow. "Let's go," he said and opened the door. Atlas stood as the train finally stopped and grabbed his robe and book and quickly followed Draco out of the compartment. The train halls were packed with all the students, a lot of the older ones still not changed into their robes. Draco and Atlas were pushed and shoved out the train doors onto the small platform. It was already very dark outside and a little wet from the mist. Atlas looked around the platform and saw a light bobbing towards them, a loud voice bellowing over the heads of the students:  
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"  
The man the voice belonged to was gigantic and very hairy. He toward over even the tallest students Atlas could see. It surprised and amazed Atlas. All the first years started moving and following the large man down a steep, narrow path through a thick patch of trees. Everyone watching their steps trying not to slip and stumble every step they took. Nobody spoke much, which Atlas didn't mind.  
The giant man suddenly bellowed, "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec. Jus' round the bend here."  
The first years around Atlas started getting restless and oohed in various degrees of loudness. Atlas' heart started racing in excitement but he kept his face calm and took deep breaths to calm himself.  
The narrow path then opened up to the edge of a great black lake. Atlas then was able to look at the castle he had been told about by his master. It was a grand as he was told. It stood perched atop a high mountain, its windows brightly lit with so many turrets and towers.  
Atlas stood for a moment and admired the sight, taking in everything he could so he could remember it for as long as he could.  
They were then ushered into a fleet of small boats, no more than four in one boat. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle stepped into a boat that was close to them. Atlas followed them, stepping carefully into the boat.  
"Right then-FORWARD!"  
The boats began moving then, gliding across the clear black lake. No one spoke as they got closer to the castle. It grew larger and grander the closer they got.  
Atlas barely heard the order to bend their heads before a curtain of ivy was before him. He quickly ducked to shield his face from the vines. They were then in carried through a dark tunnel, which seemed to take them right underneath the castle. They stopped at an underground harbor and everyone stepped off of the boats.  
The giant man started walking up a passageway in the rock, expecting all the first years to follow, which they did. The passage let out onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.  
"Wow," Atlas whispered under his breath.  
Draco snickered next to him, "It's not that impressive."  
They continued to walk up a flight of stairs until they reached the huge wooden front door.  
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"  
Atlas was confused about who would have lost a toad but didn't really put much thought into it.  
The man raised his fist and knocked three times on the castle door.  
The door opened quickly after that. In the doorway stood a tall, black haired woman in emerald colored robes. She had a stern, no-nonsense face that made Atlas, and possibly the rest of the first years, slightly nervous. She was introduced as Professor McGonagall, by the large man.  
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."  
She pulled the doors further open and beckoned them to follow her. The entrance hall was so huge it surprised Atlas. He was expecting it to be big by the size of the castle from the outside, but it still took his breath away at just how big it was. Dozens of torches lined the large stone walls, but they weren't bright enough to light the tall ceilings, making it impossible to see the top. There was a staircase facing them and a doorway to the right that hundreds of voices could be heard coming from. Atlas assumed that those voices were all the other years.  
Professor McGonagall didn't head for the hall, however. Instead, she led the first years into a small room just off of the hall. The room got rather crowded and everyone stood closer together than any of them would have liked, looking around nervously.  
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the professor. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend your free time in your house common room."  
Atlas listened intently. The sorting process made him nervous. There was a good chance that he and Draco could be in different houses, and he wasn't sure if that would be good or not. His master had told him before they left that it would be his job to watch over Draco while they were at school and it would make his job a little tricky if they were split up for most of the time.  
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."  
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."  
Her eyes traveled around the group, eyeing little flaws on each of the students. Atlas looked down at himself and thought he looked rather decent in the school robes. He straightened out his sleeves and collar, just in case.  
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." She turned and left the room.  
A soft hum started around the room from the first years talking amongst each other. Asking questions about what the ceremony would be like and if they had to answer any questions for it. A girl with rather large brown hair was whispering about spells not far from him. He chose to ignore them.  
As he was checking his tie he looked over to Draco and checked him over. He noticed that his collar was slightly off and moved to fix it. He brought his hands around Draco's neck to grab hold of the collar.  
Draco's grimaced and batted his hands away. "Get off," he hissed. "I can do it."  
Atlas felt a little hurt. They both had grown accustomed to Atlas helping Draco even with little things like this. So, Atlas was confused at the younger boy's reaction now.  
"I don't need your help with everything," Draco whispered. "Regardless of what Father and Castro say, I can take care of myself." He huffed and went to fix his collar.  
A sudden scream had them all jump. Atlas clutched his chest as he looked around, trying to keep his breathing under control. He hadn't been expecting to look up to find several ghosts stream in through the wall behind them. Pearly-white and slightly transparent people dressed in old era garb were gliding across the room. They had yet to notice the first years as they seemed to be arguing amongst themselves. One of the ghosts, who looked like a rather large monk, though Atlas believed he heard one of the ghosts refer to him as a Friar, finally turned his head and spotted the first years.  
"New students!" bellowed the Fat Friar, smiling down at the group.  
"About to be Sorted, I suppose?"  
Some of the first years nodded while some still looked at the ghosts frightened.  
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."  
"Move along now," a sharp voice commanded. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."  
Atlas turned back towards the door to see Professor McGonagall standing there. The ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.  
"Now, form a line and follow me." Professor McGonagall told to the first years.  
Atlas had let go of his chest and followed the other students into a line. He stood behind Draco with a dark-haired girl standing behind him. They walked out of the room and crossed the hall, entering through a pair of double doors into what must have been the great hall.  
Atlas' eyes widened at the sight around him. Thousands of candles lite the hall, floating above their heads. The ceiling was bewitched and resembled the night sky outside the castle. There were four long tables crossing the hall, where all the other students sat watching the parade of new students. The tables were topped with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the end of the hall was another long table where the teachers sat. Professor McGonagall led the first to the end of the hall and lined the first years to stand facing the other students.  
Atlas started to feel embarrassed having all these other students staring up at him. He tried to avoid any gazes and chose to stare at the back wall. He hardly noticed when Professor McGonagall sat a four-legged stool in front of the line of first years and set an old pointed hat on top of the stool. Atlas moved his gaze to the old hat, it had patches stitched about it and it looked rather frayed and dirty. What had they expected the first years to do with this? Transfigure it?  
He continued to look at the hat and waited to hear an explanation. He hadn't expected the hat to start moving and a mouth to form out of a rip near the bottom it. The hat then started to sing. It was a short song, and it told about what the trial was to be. We had to put on the hat and it would decide which house you would be in. At the end of the song, the hall burst into applause and the hat bowed to each of the tables. Atlas tried not to giggle as he watched it do this.  
Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.  
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"  
A girl with blonde hair pulled up into pigtails stumbled forward, put the hat on, and sat on the stool. The hat fell over her eyes when she settled.  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat after a pause.  
A table on the right burst into cheers as the young girl set the old hat back on the stool and walked over to sit with her new fellow housemates.  
"Bones, Susan!"  
Another girl walked up to the stool and sat down, placing the hat on her head. A moment later, a cry came from the hat, "HUFFLEPUFF!" She too ran off to the table on the right.  
Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin. Atlas listed as they were called. He was mostly staring off into the distance when he heard, "Elwood, Atlas!" and jumped a little out of his skin.  
As he walked slowly up to the stool. He heard some whispers coming from the other students.  
"White hair? What's with that?"  
He blushed slightly. What's so weird about it? Draco's hair is nearly white as well. Though in his case, it is more yellow than white.  
He nearly tripped on the last step up but strained himself quickly.  
He quickly took the hat and sat down placing it on his head. Trying to get this over as quickly as possible.  
"Reader, are you?" He jumped when a voice sounded in his ear. "Yes, you seem to enjoy it. Excellent mind. A lot of courage. But not one to be in the spotlight, I see."  
Atlas tried to keep control of his breathing. Anywhere but Gryffindor would be fine with him. He had often heard Mr. Malfoy talking about how much he hated the house. He didn't wish to make his Master's employer angry with them.  
"Yes, there is only one choice and that is..."  
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat called.  
Atlas sighed and got up from the seat, placing the hat back on it. He turned and saw a table on the left cheering. He went to join them.  
He was greeted by the other students and they all tried to stick their hands out to shake them. He shook as many as he could before the next name was called and their attention was diverted.  
He sat down and tried to get his nerves to calm down.  
More names were called and kids were placed. He didn't pay too close attention to it.  
"Malfoy, Draco!"  
He looked up and watched as Draco swaggered up to the stool. 'Jeez, quit being a show-off,' Atlas thought as he chuckled to himself. The hat barely had time to be put properly on before it all but screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"  
The far table erupted into cheers as Draco went to join his friends at the Slytherin table. Atlas watched the boy with a small smile on his face. He had known that Draco had a very high potential of being sorted into Slytherin, considering that his family has a long history of being in Slytherin house. Draco caught Atlas' eye from across the room and smirked, to which Atlas rolled his eyes, still smiling.  
Atlas turned back to the sorting ceremony, but didn't pay much attention to it, his mind wandering. That is until he heard loud gasps coming from all around him. He glanced around and tried to figure out what happened. He heard a lot of whispers and managed to make out a few of them.  
"Potter!"  
"The Harry Potter!"  
Atlas' eyebrows shot up. Someone that famous was here. He looked toward the front of the hall and saw a boy sitting on the stool. He had messy black hair and was wearing round glasses. So, that is Harry Potter, the boy who lived.  
The hall became silent once again in anticipation. Everyone wanting to hear what house the boy who defeated the Dark Lord would be sorted into.  
"GRYFFINDOR!" it suddenly shouted. The Gryffindor table burst into the loudest cheers of the night as Harry Potter walked up to the table. He could make out a few shouts of the famous boy's name and some bragging to the other tables, but he didn't let it bother him.  
The sorting continued and the cheering died down. There were 4 people left to sort. 2 more Gryffindor's and another to Ravenclaw, the last one was welcomed by Slytherin.  
With the sorting ceremony over Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the sorting hat away. An elderly man, who he could only assume was Albus Dumbledore, stood from the head table. He beamed down at the students, his arms wide open, looking very pleased.  
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!  
"Thank you!"  
Atlas let out a silent chuckle as he sat back down. The students clapped and cheered.  
"He is an odd one," Atlas whispered.  
"Odd but a genius," said one of the older Ravenclaw students beside him.  
Suddenly, the smell of warm food filled his nose. He turned to the previously empty plates to find all kinds of delicious food items: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boil potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and much more. Atlas suddenly realized how hungry he was, having not eaten on the train at all making breakfast the last time he had eaten anything.  
He filled his plate with some chicken, potatoes with gravy and peas. He picked at his food as he listened in every now and then on the conversations at the table. Atlas didn't want to take part of much conversation at the moment. A while after dinner began the food disappeared and was replaced by desserts a moment later. He looked around at all the sweets but wasn't up to eating any of them, so, he left his plate empty.  
Atlas spent most of dessert starting across the hall, watching the banners flutter softly. Not really thinking of anything in particular. When the desserts finally disappeared, Dumbledore stood again and the hall fell silent.  
"Ahem – Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."  
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."  
Atlas assumed that he was looking to a couple of student in particular when stating this.  
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.  
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."  
Atlas thought he felt his heart stop, was this man truly so mad as to announce something that intense to his students so nonchalantly.  
Dumbledore then dismissed them and all the first years were told to follow their house Prefects to their new houses. Atlas stood and followed his fellow house members out the hall and down some corridors and up several flights of stairs. Eventually, they came to a long spiral staircase that Atlas assumed went up to a tower.  
At the top of the stairs was a small corridor, on the far wall was a bronze knocker that looked to be shaped into the head of an eagle. One of the prefects approached the knocker.  
"If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you don't have me. What am I?" recited the knocker.  
The Prefect thought for a moment, "Ah, I got it." He looked back up to the knocker.  
"You are a secret."  
There was a loud clicking sound and a door opened around the knocker. The Prefects entered the room, followed by the first years. They found themselves inside a large open area filled with bookshelves, couches, and armchairs. All the first years stared around the room for a moment before the Prefects directed the girls through a secret door on the right and then the boys through a door on the left.  
There were stairs through the doors and at the bottom was the door to the first year's room. The room was circular in shape with 4 beds set into the walls. Each bed nook had a small window inside with a small dark blue curtain that matched a heavier set curtain that gave the nooks some privacy. Each nook had their own wardrobe and desk set on either side of it. A fire heater sat in the middle of the room.  
Atlas noticed that all their trunks had already been brought to the dorm room. Atlas was grateful because he was very tired and wanted to get some sleep. All the boys kept to themselves as they got into their pajamas and went to sleep.


End file.
